Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas Funtimes: DIY Wreath

Are you a crafty person looking for yet another fun project to get your house looking festive this December? If you answered yes, then I've got the Do-It-Yourself Guide for you: Wreath Making. Sounds easy! Or does it? Well, it is pretty easy, for the most part, and the results are stupendous. With no further ado: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Wreath

1. Get your supplies. You will need: boughs of a conifer of your choosing (I chose Balsam Pine for the nice smell and puffiness), a wreath frame, flower wire, other plant matter such as holly, pine cones, branches, cranberries, etc, pruners, and some ribbon (optional). You will need also a rough idea of what you want to make and how it should look (required). Depending on the kind of boughs you choose, you might want to wear gloves; Balsam is soft and not prickly, but other kinds of pine can be quite hard on the skin when it pricks you.

2. Abandon the floor. The floor will be a mess, and you just have to roll with it. I have carpet, so that was especially an issue.

3. Put the wreath frame and the boughs of conifer on the floor beside each other, close enough that one hand can hold while another gets the boughs. Use the pruners to cut off the size of boughs that you want. I was using the shorter, smaller boughs because they are bendier and they have the softest, puffiest ends on them, which is what I wanted for the wreath.

4. Layer the boughs over each other around the wreath frame. When you get to the place you started, begin to tuck the boughs underneath the first ones so that you have completely overlapping boughs. It's going to look pretty messy right now, and that's OK.

5. Use the flower wire to wire the boughs into place, tucking the ends and turning them as you like. The wreath frame I bought is designed to have the arms clamped down over the boughs, but this makes it a one-time-use frame. I opted instead to leave the arms straight and just use the flower wire to secure the boughs.

6. Tuck in the other plant matter where you'd like it to go. Tuck it into places that will hold it securely at the moment - the ribbon will secure it finally. If you don't want ribbon, be extra sure that you're really shoving this stuff into the wreath.

7. Wrap the ribbon around the wreath. Start by folding the ribbon in half, then hold the fold at the top of the wreath like a loop and pass the loose ends around the wreath and through the loop to secure the ribbon. You can leave a little this way to hang the wreath. Wrap the ribbon in opposite directions so that you can join them in a bow at the bottom. I wanted to hide the bow at the back of my wreath, and only left a little lick of ribbon hanging down.